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It was only 10 a.m. in Monte Sereno, but for Mayor David Baxter, it felt like 2 a.m. The time adjustment came as a result of Baxter's recent return from an 11-day trip to the city of Xinxiang, China, as part of an opportunity through the U.S.China Exchange Association. Representing Monte Sereno in China, Baxter signed a letter of cooperation with the mayor of Xinxiang, Wu Tianjun, to explore opportunities for cultural exchanges and a sister-city relationship.
The trip signifies one of his last official accomplishments before he steps down from his position as mayor to hand off the gavel to a yet-to-be-determined council member at the city's Nov. 18 council meeting.
Baxter, a resident of Monte Sereno since January of 1997, is the city's 23rd mayor. While he'd love to be mayor again, Baxter said the city traditionally rotates its mayors, and typically the vice mayor—currently Erin Garner—is next in line for the mayor role. Since 1957, of those 23 people who have served as mayor of Monte Sereno, many have served multiple terms.
Baxter, 47, still has one more year to serve on the council before deciding whether to run for reelection. He works as a high-tech executive in private consulting 3040 hours a week, putting in another 1520 hours a week as mayor.
"Certainly, he has been very logical and very able to address all the issues with an open mind," said Monte Sereno City Manager Brian Loventhal, who has worked closely with Baxter over the past year.
Loventhal cited one of Baxter's achievements, that of bringing closure to the special-events ordinance, which will limit special events to 12 hours within a 72-hour time frame. The ordinance is up for a second reading and adoption at the Nov. 18 council meeting.
"I voted against the ordinance, so I guess I'm on the negative side, but at the same time as mayor I think it was important we took a look at it, and we did. And the council majority is to go forward with it, and that's what the council is there for," Baxter said. "It can be difficult to take up an issue as mayor that in the end you don't support the outcome of."
Loventhal said Baxter has also brought leadership to the issue of pedestrian and traffic safety at the intersection of Winchester Boulevard and Daves Avenue. The corridor—90 percent of which is in the Los Gatos town limits—has been the site of traffic studies, a new traffic light and resident concerns. The speed limit in the school zone of that area was recently lowered from 35 to 25 mph, Baxter said.
Eileen Finn-Kopp, Monte Sereno administrative clerk, described Baxter as a low-key, quiet type of person.
"He always seems like everything is under control," she said. "He has a very calming, settling kind of personality."
Baxter said one of the council's goals has been to improve citizen outreach through activities such as the city's first picnic, which occurred in June, plus quarterly newsletters and reports from Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Chief Scott Seaman. Baxter said Monte Sereno was also recently declared the first city to become a colon-cancer-free zone, bringing awareness to the preventable disease.
In addition, during his term as mayor, Baxter said, the function of the city's site and architecture committee has been refined through an ordinance to bring consistency to the application-review process.
"David is friendly and he listens to people, from my experience," said Monte Sereno resident Frank Barcells, a commissioner on the site and architecture committee.
City Clerk Andrea Chelemengos said Baxter keeps board meetings focused, even though he is soft-spoken.
"He runs the meetings efficiently, and he is well received," she said. "He's very approachable."
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Photograph by George Sakkestad